The Friends Character We All Secretly Love: Why Janice is a Fan Favorite Despite Being Annoying
Despite its last episode being released back in 2004, Friends has retained its status of a cult sitcom, with millions of people still in love with its cozy, lifelike atmosphere, kind and gentle humor, and of course, the series' amazing characters.
We could talk for ages about the key characters, discussing which female lead is the best or whether Joey should have had a happier ending, and so on.
But apart from the amazing six, there were also bright supporting characters on the show, and their hilarious parts are totally worth remembering — and OH MY GOD, one of these characters is actually really hard to forget!
Yep, that's right — we're talking about Janice, Chandler Bing's on-and-off girlfriend, portrayed by Maggie Wheeler.
This character may have annoyed the friends and viewers with her obnoxious loud voice, but it turns out people loved her most of all the secondary characters. Any regrets yet, Chandler?
The typical New Yorker with a distinctive laugh and accent that drove all six friends crazy, Janice appears in one form or another throughout all ten seasons.
First, she is a romantic interest that Chandler wants to get rid of, and then she becomes almost the "seventh friend" in the gang. Of course, this makes the rest of the friends feel rather awkward, but even fans' sympathy towards them is nothing compared to their love for Janice.
"Janice wasn't even that annoying [as] they tried to make her seem [...] Like in her first appearance, Chandler breaks up with her and she is fanning her tears and obviously trying to remain composed, and Chandler acts like she is scream-crying in public," Reddit user TomatilloBeginning78 says, recalling episode five of season one, "The One With The East German Laundry Detergent."
Indeed, viewers think Chandler was too harsh on Janice — but luckily, the two were able to break up and move on with their lives, even retaining some nice feelings towards each other right until the end of the series. And while both characters did everything they could to avoid a possible rekindling of their old love (or love-hate?), Janice's regular appearance each season was still welcomed by both Chandler and fans.
"There's no other character that I've found on TV that is anything like her. Flat-out hilarious every time she's on screen," Jmarsh5 comments on Reddit.
Overall, fans see Janice as a crucial part of Friends, and without her, the cult series just wouldn't be the same. We've got to thank the writers and Maggie Wheeler for creating such a funny and admirable character who's going to stay in fans' hearts forever — along with the rest of the friends.